diy lilly pad snippers

[micaaronfl76]

i saw a thread last year but now i cant find where people gave ideas on homemade lilly pad snippers. since i cant find it can anyone give me ideas? i saw something online but it was 80 bucks i am wasnt sure if it was rust proof.

 

[morewater]

These are priced in Canadian dollars...

http://www.pondexperts.ca/pond-main...lies/#!/~/product/category=3598323&id=2605801

The razor blade will rust, but so what? As long as it cuts. The blades are easy to replace.

 

[addy1]

I have a trimmer, it is a pita to use. The pads twist around each other, the buds are in among the pads, a lot of times cut the wrong thing. To me it is easier to wade into the pond and groom them. Or pull the close to me and groom.

 

[morewater]

I agree, I like getting in there and pruning by hand as well.

I was surprised that the poster could only find pond scissors at $80. Those must be the gold-plated variety.

 

[Lisak1]

Same here - hop in and yank out the pads that are starting to yellow along with the spent blooms. I also found it helps to thin out some of the good pads, too, to make the rest last a bit longer. I do that once every other week from the end of May through the end of October-early November... brrrrrrr on both ends of that time frame! Quite refreshing all the weeks in between!

I also saw actual lily pad trimmers for near $80 at a garden store - they seemed rather heavy to me. And like addy1 said, my pads and blooms end up all tangled together. I have to get in there and straighten everybody out!

 

[dieselplower]

I hop in the pond and use my thumbnail and pointer finger to pinch off dead pads. My plants never get real big so it's a 10 second job. I wish they got bigger.

 

[Lisak1]

I hop in the pond and use my thumbnail and pointer finger to pinch off dead pads. My plants never get real big so it's a 10 second job. I wish they got bigger.

Do you fertilize? I've learned that lilies need LOTS of fertilizer to grown and bloom.

 

[dieselplower]

Do you fertilize? I've learned that lilies need LOTS of fertilizer to grown and bloom.

No I don't. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Lisak1]

No I don't. Thanks for the tip!

Oh, your waterlily life is about to change! Fertilize like we vote here in Illinois - early and often! You will see a dramatic difference in no time!

 

[dieselplower]

Oh, your waterlily life is about to change! Fertilize like we vote here in Illinois - early and often! You will see a dramatic difference in no time!

Oh haha being from IL originally I thought of some corruption jokes when it came to politics but that's another ball game. I actually do have a bag of fertilizer tabs. They are good size, about the size of a DOTS piece of candy. Are we talking one a month or so?

 

[adavisus]

Long bamboo pole for strength and length, lash short sharp kitchen knife parallel to pole, with 1" pole beyond knife tip (to avoid knife poking mistakes)

Use strips of plastic shopping bags to lash handle of blade firmly to bamboo pole. Use some stress to tighten grip to hold knife to pole. If dab hand with dremel drill you could secure knife to pole with thin long bolts

1/2" gap between blade and pole, suitable to slip lily stem accurately into gap. To cut lily stem where wanted, rotate knife blade to sever stem when a little nudge or tug is applied

Some lily stems are extra tough (some lily varieties well suited to harsh grazing) take some extra force to sever, a sharp blade will help, sturdy pole and knife required

Regards, andy
http://swglist.wordpress.com/
http://www.pinterest.com/adavisus/pondering/

 

[HARO]

I have the pruner Morewater linked to, and also their gripper, and use one in each hand. The gripper holds the offending stem until the pruner cuts it. My pond was WAY overplanted, and wading in was not an option! Hard on the hands after 15 - 20 minutes, though.
John

 

[minnowman]

This one works pretty well on a 10' pole.

 

[addy1]

I hop in the pond and use my thumbnail and pointer finger to pinch off dead pads. My plants never get real big so it's a 10 second job. I wish they got bigger.

I have some that were bare root last year, they did pretty good. But the ones fertilized did better

Do you fertilize? I've learned that lilies need LOTS of fertilizer to grown and bloom.

The ones in pots with kitty litter, 1/4 cup of osmocote below the kitty litter bloom constantly.

I need to groom and purge a lot of mine this year. They got way overgrown.

 

[Lisak1]

Oh haha being from IL originally I thought of some corruption jokes when it came to politics but that's another ball game. I actually do have a bag of fertilizer tabs. They are good size, about the size of a DOTS piece of candy. Are we talking one a month or so?

Those sound right. Depending on the size of the plant I will push 4-6 tabs into the pot monthly, or more often if I get ambitious. They bloom and put up pads so profusely that they really appreciate the constant feeding.